With just a few hours before I head out for my 15 hour journey westward, a few thoughts come to mind about my work here in Doha, Qatar
I’ve been part of an international think-tank helping ICT Qatar develop a strategy and report on how best to introduce, distribute and integrate digital content into K-12 education in Qatar, as well as other Gulf nations.
As is always the case, there’s a tension between how an such a project integrates with other efforts to improve teaching and learning in this rapidly industrializing and internationalizing society. The growth curve and paradigm here is extreme – I can see it and hear it even from the 7th floor of my hotel as I watch the endless construction of The Pearl – a man-made archipelago / residential development.
So the question becomes how an ICT (or ed tech) strategy both pushes, and is pushed by, wider changes in a national education system. We’ve learned a great deal about the contexts of my collaborators from Australia, Finland, Scotland and the UK. One consistent takeaway is the need to recognize and embrace the social value of teaching profession within an particular national context.
The challenge here, then, will be whether the route followed is one which locates an ICT/ed tech strategy within an educational reform movement, or whether it’s grafted onto the existing schools and systems.
Another way to consider this is to ponder the parable of the ice rink in the Villagio Mall, located near downtown Doha. A wonderful sight to see – indoor skating in the desert, but is it real or a mirage?
